When we gather together in corporate worship on Sunday, the majority of faithful followers of Jesus understand the “why.”  We gather to worship and give thanks to God for who he is and what he has accomplished for us in Christ Jesus. We gather to confess sin and to  encourage one another in the truths of the gospel. When we gather together in corporate worship, we live out Paul’s charge to the Colossian church to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16). 

While most of us would agree on the importance of why we gather, it can be easy to forget that the “what” (the content—songs, passages, prayers, sermon and ordinances) and the “how” (the placement of service elements) are just as important in forming us in the gospel each week. The “why”, “what”, and “how” is the liturgy that shapes our Sunday corporate worship.

Liturgy as Formation 

Liturgy is defined as “the work of the people.” Liturgy, in its simplest form, is what the congregation is doing as we gather and the predictable patterns in which these elements take place. When we gather together, Scripture calls us to do so “decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40). Gathering in corporate worship is crucial for the formation of the church and the believer, which means that the way in which we gather and the things we do when we gather are just as important as why we gather. But how does our worship on Sunday correlate to our daily worship Monday through Saturday?

We all have our own daily liturgies, whether we are aware of them or not. Most mornings after I wake up I walk downstairs, make a cup of coffee, grab my Bible, sit in the same chair I sat in the morning before, and read until the kids begin to stir. I may be tempted to think this is just normal or something that happens without thought, but when my mornings do not start this way, everything seems off. These predictable patterns and habits in my routine are liturgies—they form and shape the rest of the day. 

We live in a culture that is constantly trying to form us into its worldly image and deform us from the true image in which we were created. It is clawing for our attention, our allegiance, our worship and wants to draw us into a lesser story. A story that says we can either save ourselves through self-help, or we are utterly hopeless.  However, there is a better story and when we gather, we are to be reminded of the true story of the gospel and reformed into who we were created, and recreated, to be. If we are not careful, the way we structure our gatherings, songs, prayers, and sermons can lead us and form us in a story centered on us rather than centered on the finished work of Christ Jesus on the cross. 

At Providence, we believe that the things we do and how we do them in our gatherings matter. The form and elements that are present in our gatherings are meant to shape an all-of-life worship centered on the gospel. So, let’s take a look at how we structure our corporate worship each week.

The Liturgy of Providence Church

A structured liturgy is not something new, but historic in the church. These liturgies are made up of many different movements and elements. The arc of our Sunday gatherings follows a pattern of Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration. Another way to look at this is, “God is holy,” “We are sinners,” “Jesus saves us,” and “Jesus sends us.”

CREATION
God Is Holy
Call To Worship

In the church – Our call to worship, typically a passage of Scripture, reminds us the worship begins with God. This lifts our eyes up to see that it is God in his glory, majesty, and holiness that initiates our worship of him.

In daily worship – Our hearts need to be reminded early in the day of the glory of God and that he is worthy of our obedience, our life, and our worship. This can take place in the spiritual disciplines of Bible intake and prayer as you start your day. 

Praise and Adoration
In the church – Singing is mentioned more than 400 times in the Bible! We sing songs of praise and adoration to God that remind us of who he is, his character, his holines, and what he has done for us in Christ Jesus. 

In daily worship – There are many ways in which we can praise the Lord in our days through singing, prayer, thankfulness, and so much more!

FALL
We Are Sinners
Confession

In the church – As we reflect on God’s glory and holiness we are met with the reality of our sin. Each week we have a time to confess our sins, whether corporately or individually in our gathering. We typically confess corporately through reading Scripture, praying, or singing a song of confession.

In daily worship – Scripture is clear that confession of sin is to be a regular practice in the life of the believer. We should be confessing our sin daily before God. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).  We also see in John 5:16 that confession in community leads to our healing. We need to be surrounded by Christian community so that we can confess our sin and be reminded of the gospel.

REDEMPTION
Jesus Saves Us
Assurance of Pardon

In the church – Our confession then leads us to remember the assurance we have in the saving work of Christ Jesus on the cross. These elements can take place through Scripture, prayer, or song.

In daily worship – We need to be reminded daily of our assurance of the finished work in Christ Jesus. This can take place through reading Scripture, singing, or as we saw above, confessing our sin in community and being reminded of our assurance of forgiveness in the gospel. 

Sermon and The Ordinances (Baptism and Communion)
In the church – Each week we sit under biblical, gospel-centered proclamation of God’s Word. We are always pointed back to the overarching story of Jesus’ redemption. We also regularly observe the ordinances of baptism and communion. In preaching we hear the Gospel and in the ordinances we see the gospel. Taking communion and celebrating believer’ baptism help us actively remember the redeeming work of Christ in our midst.   I suggest adding something on baptism and the Lord’s Supper. In preaching we hear the gospel, in the ordinances we see the gospel.

In daily worship – We should reflect on the previous week’s sermon and ask the Spirit to help us apply and obey what we were taught in God’s Word.

RESTORATION
Jesus Sends Us
Response

In the church – After we sit under the proclamation of God’s Word, we then respond in singing. We intentionally choose response songs that apply to the passage we sat under. God has graciously given us lyrics, melodies, and songs to help us hide his Word in our heart (Ps. 119:11).

In daily worship – God’s word and his work in our life should lead us to worship through obedience, thankfulness, testimony, and evangelism. When we remember the good news of the gospel, we cannot help but respond!

Benediction
In the church – This is a sending blessing to the gathered people. This is a reminder that as we have gathered together as the church, so we are sent into the world “to proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). This can be done through a Scriptural benediction being read over the congregation, a prayer, or a song (such as “Doxology” or our own benediction song we sing each week). 

In daily worship – This “sending” in your daily life could be a prayer or song at the end of your time in the Word as you are sent into your day. This could also be a liturgy you add to the end of your day as you prepare for rest and prepare to be sent into a new day.

What we do when we gather on Sunday matters. What we do in our daily worship matters. Praise God that he has worked so beautifully that the corporate and secret places of our worship are so uniquely combined together. Our liturgy is meant to point our minds and hearts toward Jesus. However, if we do not have a Spirit-empowered relationship with God and our affections are not stirred for His Word, or His glory, we have missed it. Even if we are saying all the right words, or doing the right things, but we are not moved in our hearts, we have missed it. My prayer for our church is that we recognize how the liturgies of Sunday and the liturgies of daily worship are linked together and lead to flourishing worship and obedience to God and his Word.

Here are some links to more resources on liturgy in the church:

Corporate Worship by Matt Merker
Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship
Rhythms of Grace by Mike Cosper
You Are What You Love by James K.A. Smith